


Cupid Got Me In a Chokehold

by myfizzylogic



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: M/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 22:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1112262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myfizzylogic/pseuds/myfizzylogic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry works in a coffee shop in London in the mornings. Nick is starting his job as host of the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show. They meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cupid Got Me In a Chokehold

Harry Styles is what his mum calls a morning person and his friends call unnatural. It’s how he ends up with almost every morning shift available at the local coffee shop he works at in London. He doesn’t particularly mind, even if he’s had a rather mental night and little to no sleep, he has an unlimited supply of coffee at his fingertips anyway. It also means he can use his afternoons napping, one of his favourite past times, and his evenings trying his luck singing at local pubs and small gigs in the hopes one day it might lead somewhere.

“Hey Niall how many keppy uppys do you think I can do with a muffin?” Harry asks, quickly nicking one from behind the glass.

They’re just cleaning up after the morning pre-work rush, with only the odd person or people settled at tables with steaming mugs of caffeine staring into space, eyes still crusted with sleep and Harry has just fully woken up and entered what others call his ‘hyper little shit’ stage.

“None.” Niall says.

“Bit harsh, I reckon I could do at least 4.”

“No. You won’t. For 2 reasons.” Niall begins grabbing the stolen muffin off of him. “1. You’re not wasting good food and 2. You’re the clumsiest person I’ve ever met; I’m surprised every day when you manage not to break your neck getting your jeans on.”

“You’re very mean.” Harry grumbles and picks up his discarded dish cloth begrudgingly getting back to work.

The door swings open then and a man with hair and limbs that don’t seem to quite know what direction they’re going in, waltzes in and collapses on the counter in front of Niall who’s working the till.

“Alright man what you doin here?” Niall asks with a familiarity that surprises Harry for a moment until he remembers that this is Niall and he remembers and is on good terms with pretty much everyone he’s ever met.

“I thought I’d come and see how your annual projections were doing.” The guy deadpans. “I want fucking coffee Niall what do you think?”

Niall chuckles good naturedly and scribbles an order onto a take away cup without asking, he must be a regular Harry thinks. He frowns as he picks up the cup and starts on the order, wondering why he’s never seen him before.

“What do you reckon to this early morning malarkey then? Doable?” The guy asks Niall as he digs around in his wallet.

“For most, yeah. You? Not a chance.”

“Yeah that seems to be most people’s reaction. I dunno what Ben’s thinking.”

“About what?”

“Hmm? Never you mind young Niall who asked you anyway?”

“You did.” Niall says reasonably.

“I never did no such thing. As you were.” And that seems to be the end of it.

Harry’s popping the lid onto his finished drink when he looks up and notices the strange man watching him with sleepy but intent eyes.

“There ya go.” Harry mumbles at a loss of anything else to say as he passes the drink over. He’s not exactly renowned for being smooth. He tends to trip head first into shags if anything.

“Pretty face, lovely lips, why don’t they put pretty face on tills to get customer? I don’t get it.” Harry can’t help but blush, more because this guy clearly hasn’t realised he called him pretty face out loud, as he leans heavily on the counter half asleep.

“I make really good coffee.” Harry whispers nodding at the polystyrene cup in his hand, the guy startles and looks confused. “The coffees better than my pretty face.”  Harry offers with a sympathetic smile.

“Oh I’m really going to have to work on my brain to mouth filter when I’m tired. It could literally ruin my life.” Slighty crazy but pretty eyes, Harry should really ask Niall if he knows this blokes name when he’s gone, takes a sip of his coffee and barely suppresses a happy moan. Harry smiles smugly to himself. He knows he makes the best coffee in the shop, it was how he got the job without anything but his average A-level results and an alright reference from his old boss at the bakery that barely hid that all he did when working there was eat leftover cake and chat to his mates.

“Okay I see your point. Now please tell me you work here a lot because coffee by any other pleb with a coffee machine will now never suffice.” The guy rambles, already slightly perked up with caffeine, looking a bit desperate.

“I work here a lot.” Harry admits with a small amused smile. “Mainly mornings.”

“Hmm. For the record I still think you have a very pretty face, much better than coffee.” Harry is spared the embarrassment of the guy witnessing his bright blushing cheeks when his phone goes off suddenly. His face morphs into a look of alarm when he looks at the screen and mumbles something about someone called Finchy putting his balls on a leash before he rushes out with a wave.

Harry’s left slightly dazed in his absence and turns to Niall who’s bouncing about to the shitty regulation music playing.

“Have you met him before?” Harry asks throwing a tea towel at him to get his attention.

“What Nick? Yeah he’s in here quite a lot.” Niall shrugs.

“How come I’ve never seen him?” Harry asks and he absolutely does not pout despite what anyone else might say.

“He usually comes just before closing, earliest I’ve ever seen him today. Caught your eye has he Haz?”

“Shut up no.” Harry mumbles and shakes his curls into his face to cover up any hints of a blush. Somehow since his move to London Harry got a reputation as something of a player and it might be a title that a lot of guys would be pleased with but he just finds it embarrassing and awkward. That’s just not how Harry works, he likes sex sure and lots of it but he craves the intimacy of a relationship daily. Ever since the reputation spread around their group of friends he’s struggled to meet anyone that doesn’t just want a quick fuck and disappears before Harry’s even up for his morning shift at the coffee shop. He doesn’t mind it occasionally but he's not ashamed to admit he gets lonely sometimes, pretty much all his closest friends are in a relationship now, and although they try and make sure he doesn’t feel excluded there’s only so many meals and film trips he can go on as the odd number of the group without feeling pathetic.

They’re both quiet for a bit when they get a few more customers but as Harry heads off for a break, Niall nudges him gently to get his attention.

“He’s a good bloke is Nick. I know he seems a bit…”

“Mental?” Harry finishes for him.

“Well yeah, but he’s sweet y’know. I’m just sayin’.”

Harry crumples his forehead in a frown as to why Niall feels the need to tell him this but nods and punches him on the shoulder as he passes. By the sounds of it Nick is an evening regular anyway so Harry doubts he’ll see him again.

\----------

“’Ello curly!”

 Harry startles and spills the scalding drink he was making over his hand.

“Oh shit fuck.” He curses putting the drink down and flapping his hand a bit. It hurts but it’s happened enough that it’s a familiar pain that doesn’t warrant too much attention. He sucks the sore skin into his mouth to soothe it a bit and looks up at an apologetic looking Nick hovering behind the counter. It’s been a couple of weeks since their first meeting and he’d be lying to himself if the strange man hadn’t occupied a fair few of his thoughts. He’s loathe to admit he spent the first week after his visit staring hopefully at the door every time it opened and tried to hide the sinking feeling in his stomach whenever it wasn’t him.

“Oh dear… sorry love.” He apologises. “My mates say I should have a bell so I don’t keep doing that to people.”

Harry huffs out a genuine laugh and takes his hand away from his mouth.  “Cause a lot of work place injuries do ya?”

“I s'pose I do actually yeah.” Nick says after a moment’s thought. “You okay though?” He adds looking genuinely concerned.

“Fine yeah, occupational hazard innit. And… I don’t have the best co-ordination, it’s definitely not a first. Um coffee mocha.” He adds passing the finished drink to a half asleep woman with her hat practically pulled over her eyes leaving him alone with Nick.

“Well if you ever need someone to kiss the burns better, it was my fault after all.” Nick offers with a cheeky grin that would look more appropriate on a 5 year old who was planning something devious, like covering the cat in hair gel.

“Nah I’m tough me.” Harry says around a nervous laugh and then immediately internally scalds himself because Nick is fit and flirting with him and he just turned get better kisses. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

“Are you from Manchester by any chance?” Nick suddenly asks pointing at him with a long delicate finger that immediately fills Harrys head with thoughts that really shouldn’t be allowed this early in the day.

“Erm yeah well Cheshire but same difference really.” He mumbles when he’s recovered.

“I knew it! I’d recognise that Northern twang anywhere, I’m from Oldham.”

“Oh cool.” Harry beams. He hasn’t had the chance to meet many people apart from the lads he works with since he moved and he realises that Nick’s accent swells his heart in familiar homey way that he hadn’t even recognised he’d been missing. “God I miss Manchester bus prices.” He blurts out unthinkingly.

“Eh it’s gone up 10p recently.” Nick whines.

“Still better than the prices down here, I paid 6 quid for a pint the other day. I could have bought 4 sets of lives on candy crush for that.”

“Your priorities speak to me on a deep and personal level.”

They end up swapping stories about home and Harry gets what Niall was trying to say to him the other day. There’s no doubt Nick is slightly, if not quite a bit, mad, loud and reckless but in five minutes Harry can see he’s also funny, humble and yeah what Niall said, sweet.

Harry’s been staring at Nick’s hands gestures for a good few minutes trying to not let his mind wander too far into _‘fingers, such long fingers, I want those fingers, I want them inside me’_ and failing if his half hard dick has a say in it when he registers his name being shouted.

“Eh?” He grunts tearing his eyes away and finds Louis and Liam trying to look stern and failing miserably.

“Young Harold stop flirting with the nice man and get back to being our coffee bitch. There are other customers.” Louis teases. Harry looks around and there are about three people in the whole shop all who have drinks. Liam tries to look apologetic on behalf of him but he’s basically been corrupted now and only manages it for a moment before he giggles darkly and ruffles Harry’s curls.

“Here I made Nick’s drink for you.” Liam says as he pushes the drink towards him.

“Oh.” Nick squeaks and darts looks between them and the coffee. “But… Harry makes magic coffee. It’s made of glitter and cheekbones and all things good with the world. If I could I’d inject it directly into my blood stream.”

Liam looks hurt for a moment, before Harry he was the top barista apparently, but Louis quickly soothes him with a kiss on the cheek and a quiet word in his ear that makes his smile boyish and pleased as he follows Louis into the stock room.

“Don’t you dare get jizz on the coffee beans again!” Harry calls after them sternly. He’d never known such salty coffee.

Nick lets out a burst of proper laughter and Harry is delighted to find his laugh is such utter filth he can’t not join in. He shakes his head and chuckles as he starts re-making Nick’s coffee.

He doesn’t realise Nick’s been watching him intently until he passes his drink over and meets his eyes.

“You’ve got a dimple.” Nick states simply. “Just one.”

“Um yeah.” Harry nods poking his cheek and the offending dimple.

“It’s cute. I like it.” Nick says in a voice quieter than Harrys heard him use. “See ya tomorrow kid.”

Harry finds himself unable to look away from the door even when Nick’s been gone for a few minutes.

The boys re-appear from the back looking ruffled and happy and immediately leap on him.

“Ohhhh does someone like Nicky?” Louis taunts.

“He called me kid.”

“Oh love.” Liam sighs.

“Maybe he’s into baby play.” Louis suggests.

Liam hits Louis.

\----------

After that Nick comes in to the shop every week day at half ten nearly to the dot and orders a round of coffees that takes Harry a while to make by himself at Nicks insistence but gives them longer to chat about this and that. Harry asks him once why he’s suddenly there in the morning all the time after being a predominantly evening customer but Nick just looks slightly startled and mumbles something about his schedule changing and that’s that. He refuses to have his coffee made by anyone but Harry and apparently waited twenty minutes for him one day when Harry was on a break. He’d walked back in to see Nick hovering awkwardly by the counter periodically glancing at the clock and biting his lip until he saw Harry and his face lit up into a beam that embarrassingly made Harry's heart swell. In the end though Nick had, had to run off without their usual chat and after that Harry always took his break after Nick had been.

“How come you’ve never asked me my name? Bit rude that young man.” Nick asks half way through the third consecutive week he’s been coming in, sprawling himself on the counter watching Harry at work. He'd told Harry he was certain he was putting cocaine or something equally addictive in to keep him coming in and insisted on watching him constantly whilst he made coffee. 

“I know your name.” Harry mumbles as he tries not to bristle at the reference to his age that Nick insists on slipping in all the time, whether reminding himself or Harry he didn’t know.

“You do?” Nick squeaks, straightening up and giving him a suspicious once over.

“Yeah, Niall told me after you came in the first time.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway you never asked me my name either.”

“You’re fucking wearing your name I’d have to pretty thick to miss it wouldn’t I?”

“You’d be surprised.”

They’re quiet for a bit as Harry finishes making the last coffee and fits it into a cardboard holder for Nick.

“God you do play some crap in here.”

“Heyyyyy.” Harry whines shoving over the drinks unceremoniously. “I don’t get a choice in what music we play, I’m not exactly loving life here.”

“Can’t you just put on the radio?” Nick mutters fiddling with edges of the takeaway cups and not quite meeting Harry’s eyes.

“No we’re not allowed, something to do with music licencing laws, I don’t know man.”

“So you don’t like, listen to the radio much at all then?”

“I guess not.” Harry replies not understanding what Nick’s getting at. “Why?”

“Hmm? Oh I’m er doing a survey. Thanks for the coffee love see you later.” Nick says in a rush and then sweeps out dramatically as he’s often prone to do.

Zayn looks up from where he was lounging at one of the tables half-heartedly wiping it with a cloth and gives him a matching look of bewilderment.

“That was weird right, that wasn’t just me?” Harry asks.

“Wait…you don’t know…fuck sake none of you do, do you?” Zayn cries, wearily dropping his head into his hands and Harry suddenly realises the looks of bewilderment was meant for him.

“What? I don’t understand.” Harry whines.

“This explains so much. You’re all a bunch of uncultured swine’s you know that?” Zayn spits, shaking his head and sauntering to the break room.

A bit desperately Harry looks around the shop as if he’ll find the answer somewhere and is instead just met with one girl sat in the corner trying to hide her smirk into her coffee cup.

“Am I missing something ‘ere?” Harry asks her.

“Oh love.” Is all she offers.

\----------

Harrys distracted for the rest of his shift trying to wrap his head around Nick and Zayn and why do people keep calling him love? He’s in London for fuck sake. Terms of endearment aren’t a thing. In his first week he’d called a lady ‘duck’ and after five minutes of outraged cockney shouting in his face he realised London wasn't like Holmes Chapel. He’s got half an hour of his shift left when Liam bounces in beaming at him.

“Can I have some tea to take away please?” He asks politely.

“Liam. You’re mostly normal right?” Harry mumbles, quickly writing down Liam’s order and shoving the cup to Zayn.

“I’m wearing a batman onesie under my clothes.” Liam states with a serious face.

“Right.” Harry nods. “Your point?”

“I’m just saying Zayn’s probably the most normal.” Liam shrugs.

“Yeah fair point but I can’t ask Zayn he’s being all cryptic and smug and I hate him.” Harry snaps sending a glare in his direction. He’d been trying to question Zayn ever since Nick left and all he received in response was a few comments about modern culture and living under a rock and didn’t he ever watch channel 4 before school when he was younger? The answer was no, Harry has always been a morning person and he used to make use of it by doing a paper round and making the coffee for everyone before he left.

Liam gives them both a disapproving look that Harrys sure he’s seen on his mums face whenever he was fighting with his sister and gives Liam his wide eyed Disney face back. As he expects Liam’s face cracks into a soft smile and he sighs and settles himself against the counter.

“Alright what’s happened?”

“Right you know Nick?” Harry begins.

“The dude with the hair that spends 10 minutes flirting with you every day? Yes.” Liam says matter of factly.

“So he _is_ flirting with me?”

“Doy!” Liam exclaims.

“But he’s always calling me kid and young man and I know I have a bit of a baby face but- anyway not the point.” Harry rushes shaking his head. “He was just being weird today-”

“What weirder than he usually is?” Liam asks.

“Heyy don’t be mean! He’s sweet really.”

“Aw you’re defending him it must be love.” Zayn squeaks in a mocking tone and flutters his eyelashes at him.

“You’re being really unhelpful today.” Harry sighs and sags admitting defeat of every getting sympathy or useful advice from his friends.

“I’m only joking Haz, I like Nick he’s a nice bloke. You’d be good together.” Liam says sincerely. Harry offers him a small smile.

The baby hairs on the back of Harry’s neck start to prickle as a quiet stillness settles in the shop that stops him from questioning Liam further. He looks up and Liam’s glaring at a frozen Zayn who refuses to let go of his tea as he stares at the bloke who’s just come in.

“Zayn give me my tea, you are depriving me of my British right.” Liam cries out.

“What to have tea?” Harry asks as Zayn shakes his head and lets Liam have his drink sending a worried look between Harry and the new customer.

“What’s more British than tea? Oh hey it’s innuendo bingo guy!” Liam exclaims happily, pointing at the alarmed customer. “Awesome game man, anyway I have to run Gotham isn’t going to save itself. I’ll see you at the pub boys.” Liam winks theatrically and salutes the customer who’s now at the counter watching them all carefully.

“Sorry about him, he’s er, he’s Liam.” Harry shrugs unable to offer a better explanation and plasters on his best disarming smile for the slightly orange man. “What can I get for you?”

“Erm skinny vanilla latte please. Large.”

“No problem.” Harry mumbles pointedly looking at Zayn to make it.

“Er actually-” The customer begins awkwardly and points hesitantly at Harry. Harry and Zayn freeze and wait for him to continue. “Well I heard from a friend that you make the best coffee in the world, probably the universe, so…”

“Um yeah sure, I’ll work my magic.” Harry beams and awkwardly swaps places with Zayn who glares slightly at innuendo bingo guy, Harry does wish he was better at remembering names.

There’s an awkward silence as Harry works on the coffee which he just can’t cope with so he starts prattling on about innuendo bingo and how Louis makes them play it every week whether they’re at home or not and how many times Harry’s had to rush out with wet pants until Zayn suddenly interrupts.

“So who’s the friend who told you about Harry then?”

“Sorry?” Scott Mills, Harry had managed to subtly gain this information, says startled.

“You said your friend recommended Harry, which friend?” Zayn repeats friendly enough, but the set of his jaw suggesting something more determined.

Scott looks between a stern Zayn and baffled Harry uneasily. Harry sometimes wishes he wasn’t a ‘startlingly oblivious fucker’ as his sister so fondly liked to call him as he really felt he was missing something here. 

“It was er, Nick, it was Nick.” Scott stammers out. “I’ve known him for years. Wouldn’t stop raving about you.”

“Oh nice, well I hope I don’t disappoint.” Harry says breezily trying to diffuse the tension that he doesn’t understand.

Zayn sends him an anxious look before he deflates and mumbles about going for a cigarette as he escapes out the back.

“Sorry.” Harry sighs. “He’s been acting strange today he’s usually the most normal to be honest.”

Scott laughs awkwardly and begins to fumble round in his pocket to pay Harry. Harry puts a hand out and stops him.

“It’s alright. On the house. For the weirdness, we’re usually much nicer I promise.” Harry beams passing over the finished drink. Scott immediately relaxes and he smiles softly at him in thanks. He’s about to turn and leave until Harry realises this man could let some light on the whole Nick situation and grabs his arm. “Hey, um, can I ask you something please?”

Scott tenses again and takes a sip of his coffee, with a surprised pleased sigh afterwards Harry’s pleased to note, before nodding.

“Is there something going on with Nick? I mean…he just …he says things… I don’t always understand and well I…” Harry says even slower than usual trying to give a voice to his anxieties. “I like him is all.”

Scott’s head tilts and his eyes go all soft as he scans his face. Harry brushes his unruly hair out of his face, maybe he should invest in a bandana or something, a banana bandana that would be amazing, and chews on his lips as he waits to hear that Nick’s married or a figment of his imagination.

“Nick’s…” Scott begins looking uncertain. “Nick is Nick. He’s a bit cautious and he’s a bit of a coward but he’s fiercely loyal and a sweetheart really. Like you I think, he was right.”

Harrys face erupts in a smile. “Thank you.” He squeaks with an odd little bow.

Scott lets out a slightly hysterical little giggle and nods back at him and then scurries out when he sees Zayn coming back in.

Zayn looks slightly more appeased after his nicotine fix and eyes Harry. “Why do you have a grin like a cat that’s learnt to use the tin opener?”

Harry rocks on his feet and beams at him.

“I’m a sweetheart.”

**Author's Note:**

> I promised myself months ago I would have this finished before 2014, I haven't managed that but I thought if I posted what I did have it would encourage me to carry on. It will be at most 3 chapters when finished. I know it's outside the realm of reason for Harry to live in the UK and have no idea who Nick Grimshaw is but I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much. This is the first fic I've written since the days of Matt Cardle and Aiden Grimshaw. As my housemate said 'X factor 2010 really ruined your life'.


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